Sub menu

Publications

Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics, and physics and mathematics major Gim Seng Ng ’08 are co-authors of “Avalanches of Bose-Einstein condensates in leaking optical lattices,” published in New Journal of Physics, 11, 073045 in 2009. The paper is about novel properties of Bose-Einstein condensates (ultra-cold atoms) in open systems. This project constituted a large part of Ng’s senior honors thesis in physics.

Leo Lensing, chair and professor of German studies, professor of film studies, is the editor of the book, Peter Altenberg: The Self-Invention of a Poet. Letters and Documents 1892-1896, published by the Wallstein Verlag (Goettingen) in Germany.

The 210-page book, published in September, documents the beginning of the literary career of the Viennese writer Peter Altenberg (1859-1919).

The book received positive reviews in a Sept. 28 issue of The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, whose arts pages are the most prestigious in the German-speaking world.

Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics, is the co-author of “Exponentially Fragile PT-Symmetry in lattices with Localized Eigenmodes,” published in Physical Review Letters 103,030,402 in 2009. The paper discusses the effects of disorder on a previously excluded class of quantum mechanical systems.

Berel Lang, visiting professor of letters, visiting professor of philosophy, is the author of the book Philosophical Witnessing: The Holocaust as Presence published by the University Press of New England, the fifth in a series of books by him on the Holocaust.

The 260-paged book brings the perspective of philosophical analysis to bear on issues related to the Holocaust. Setting out from a conception of philosophical “witnessing” that expands and illuminates the standard view of the witness, he confronts the question of what philosophy can add to the views of the Holocaust provided in other disciplines. Drawing on the philosophical areas of political theory, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of history, he draws attention especially to the post-Holocaust emphasis on the concepts of genocide and “group rights.”

Lang’s study, which emphasizes the moral choices that now face post-Holocaust thought, inspires the reader to think of the Holocaust in new ways, showing how its continued presence in contemporary consciousness affects areas of thought and practice not directly associated with that event.

Richard Slotkin, the Olin Professor of English Emeritus, is the author of the book, No Quarter: The Battle of the Crater, 1864 published by Random House on July 21.

No Quarter is a dramatic recount of one of the Civil War’s most pivotal events — the Battle of the Crater on July 30, 1864.

At first glance, the Union’s plan seemed brilliant. A regiment of miners would burrow beneath a Confederate fort, pack the tunnel with explosives, and blow a hole in the enemy lines. Then a specially trained division of African American infantry would spearhead a powerful assault to exploit the breach created by the explosion. Thus, in one decisive action, the Union would marshal its mastery of technology and resources, as well as demonstrate the superior morale generated by the Army of the Potomac’s embrace of emancipation. At stake

Keera Bhandari ’08, MA ’09 and Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, are the authors of a new article on children’s social cognition. The article, based on Bhandari’s research project for her master’s degree in psychology, is titled “Show or tell: Testimony is sufficient to induce the curse of knowledge in three- and four-year-olds.” It will appear in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2009.

Jelle Zeilinga de Boer, the Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science emeritus, is the author of Stories in Stone: How Geology Influenced Connecticut History and Culture published by Wesleyan University Press in July 2009.

In the 228-paged book, geoscientist Zeilinga de Boer describes how early settlers discovered and exploited Connecticut’s natural resources. Their successes as well as failures form the very basis of the state’s history: Chatham’s gold played a role in the acquisition of its Charter, and Middletown’s lead helped the colony gain its freedom during the Revolution. Fertile soils in the Central Valley fueled the state’s development into an agricultural power house, and iron ores discovered in the western highlands helped trigger its manufacturing eminence. The Statue of Liberty, a quintessential symbol of America, rests on Connecticut’s Stony Creek granite. Geology not only shaped the state’s physical landscape, but also provided an economic base and played a cultural role by inspiring folklore, paintings, and poems.

Illuminated by 50 illustrations and 12 color plates, Stories in Stone describes the marvel of Connecticut’s geologic diversity and also recounts the impact of past climates, earthquakes, and meteorites on the lives of the people who made Connecticut their home.

Tsampikos Kottos, assistant professor of physics; Moritz Hiller, a former visiting scientist; and Katrina Smith-Mannshott BA ’08, MA ’09 are the co-authors of the article, “Occupation Statistics of a BEC for a Driven Landau-Zener Crossing,” published in Physical Review Letters, Issue 102, in 2009.

A paper co-authored by Ellen Thomas, research professor of earth and environmental sciences, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, July 2009.

In the article, “Surviving mass extinction by bridging the benthic/planktic divide,” Thomas and her colleagues show a very unexpected observations, i.e. that a species of foraminifera, which lives floating in the surface waters of the Indian Ocean, is genetically the same as a species living on the bottom of the ocean in shallow waters (between tide levels, coast of Kenya) – using DNA analysis.

“We then show, using a sophisticated way of chemical analysis, that it was not just blown there by storms, but formed its shell there in the surface waters,” Thomas explains. “We then interpret these data, and argument that such species that live both on the bottom and floating in surface waters (until now unknown for foraminifera) are much better able to survive the adverse environmental effects at such times as the meteorite impact that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs.”

The story is written up by the UK counterpart of the National Science Foundation (NERC), which funded the first author of the paper, Kate Darling.

We are SO excited to celebrate the graduating class of 2019 tomorrow! 🎓 Unable to join in person? Here's where you can watch the ceremony LIVE on Sunday, May 26 at 11 a.m. EST #Wes2019:
on Facebook 📱: bit.ly/2IP1Wto
on the Web 💻 : bit.ly/WesCommencemen…

Lots of great WESeminars today! Here's your chance to revisit the classroom this weekend and experience firsthand the academic excellence that is the essence of Wesleyan. Check out the schedule #WesReunion#Wes2019: fal.cn/ARoc